VI HETEROCERA BRAHMAEIDAE — BOMBYCIDAE 375 



upholstery. About fifteen species are recognised ; the geo- 

 graphical distribution is remarkable ; consisting of a comparatively 

 narrow belt extending across the Old World from Japan to West 

 Africa, including Asia Minor and the shores of the Caspian Sea. 

 Little has been recorded as to the life-histories of these Insects. 

 The larva is said to have the second and third segments swollen 

 and armed with a pair of lateral spines projecting forwards. A 

 cocoon is not formed. 



Fam. 5. Oeratocampidae. — This is a small family. They are 

 fine moths peculiar to the Xew World, and known principally by 

 scattered notices in the works of North American entomologists. 

 Seven genera and about sixty species are known. The chief 

 genus is Citheronia. Some of the larvae are remarkable, being- 

 armed with large and complex spines. A cocoon is not formed. 



Fam. 6. Bombycidae. — In entomological literature this 

 name has a very uncertain meaning, as it has been applied to 

 diverse groups ; even at present the name is frequently used for 

 the Lasiocampidae. We apply it to the inconsiderable family 

 of true silkworm moths. They are comparatively sinall and 

 uninteresting Insects in both the larval and imaginal instars ; 

 but the cocoons formed by the well-known silkworm are of great 

 value, and some other species form similar structures that are of 

 more or less value for commercial purposes. The silkworm has 

 been domesticated for an enormous period, and is consequently 

 now very widely spread over the earth's surface ; opinions differ 

 as to its real home, some thinking it came originally from 

 Northern China, while others believe Bengal to have been its 

 native habitat. The silkworm is properly called Bombyx mori, 

 but perhaps it is as often styled Sericaria mori. Besides being 

 of so great a value in commerce, this Insect has become an 

 important object of investigation as to anatomy, physiology and 

 development. Its domestication has probably been accompanied 

 by a certain amount of change in habits and instincts, the 

 creature having apparently lost its appreciation of freedom and 

 its power of flight ; it is also said to be helpless in certain 

 respects when placed on trees in the larval state ; but the import- 

 ance of these points has been perhaps somewhat exaggerated.-' 



Although the family Bombycidae is very widely distributed 

 in the warmer regions of the world, it includes only 15 or 20 



^ See on this subject Perez, Act. Soc. Bordeaux, xlvii. ISGi, p. 236, etc. 



